Breathtaking

 “Cara looked down at the pictures in her hand. The Polaroid was developed now, and she held it side by side with the one from kindergarten. So much life had happened between those pictures. It was like a dash between the birth and death years on a tombstone.”

– Courtney Turcotte Bond, Breathtaking

🏈I received an e-Book of this story in exchange for a fair review!🏈

Today’s review is another book for which the author was kind enough to provide a copy, after connecting through Instagram’s truly wonderful book community. Once again, this was a read that was quite far outside of my usual sphere of genres, but I will say that I was blown away by this story all the same. This was a genuinely beautiful read, by turns amusing, distressing and inspiring; this book really did lace the gamut of emotions through its pages.

Breathtaking follows the lives of two best friends and close next-door neighbours, Cara and Adam, through their shared childhood, and all the way up to their late teenage years. For most of its length, this book is a beautifully accurate portrayal of the tender innocence of childhood, and the bond shared between two incredibly close friends. It documents every aspect of growing up that you might expect – from school life and dealing with bullies, parents and siblings, and all the way through to grappling with love, loss, and coming to terms with oneself and one’s own identity.

I think most readers will be able to relate to either Cara or Adam (or both of them) to some degree, regardless of where in the world they are from. The author Bond manages to capture the very essence of youth within these pages; she perfectly portrays the trials and tribulations of growing up, with all the inevitable humour and sadness, the ups and downs, that come with that turbulent period of a person’s life. She does so with real heart too – and it is this powerful, emotional core that makes Breathtaking such a fantastic and engaging read from start to finish.

I knew a little bit about this book from what the author had mentioned beforehand, and from looking into the synopsis myself, but mostly I went into this more or less blind. After finishing the book, I looked further into the two people and the lives that served as the foundation for the narrative. Although Breathtaking concerns fictional characters, it is quite clear that the personalities and events depicted in it were often very close to the reality, which only serves to make the story that much more endearing – and also all the more heartrending – when the tragedy in the narrative inevitably strikes.

It’s very clear that this project was thoroughly and painstakingly researched, to be as genuine as possible to the setting, and to the real story that inspired it. In this regard, it is a respectful and poignant commemoration of the lives of Madison Taliaferro, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just two years old, and was herself a close student of the author Bond, and Alex Lott, the lung donor who gave Madison six more years of life. It shines a light on the good that organ donation can do, the lives it can extend and even save. I won’t go into more detail about the true story behind Breathtaking, as there is nothing I could write to really capture the gravity of what Alex’s decision to be an organ donor meant, and the many lives it helped. If you are interested in learning about them however, searching their names will bring up more details.

Back on to the book itself, the writing is very easy reading and so feels highly accessible. I think was the intention of the author, so that the story and the all-too real events it portrays could reach as wide an audience as possible. Besides Bond’s own writing, the book is also interspersed with poetry by Adam Boyd Stevens, each of which is weaved effortlessly into the narrative and the context of the story. These poems are less an accompaniment as they are a crucial part of the book as a whole, and are really just gorgeously written, with lyrical prose and meaningful sentiments. I loved each and every one of these, and thought they added an extra dimension to an already great narrative.

For a debut publication, Breathtaking is a wildly impressive accomplishment. It’s easy reading, but also manages to be very emotionally affecting when it needs to be. Even knowing the context of the story, and being aware of the inevitable heartbreak that is to come, it still hits you like a ton of bricks when it does. A sensational coming-of-age story that is both lovely and gut-wrenching to experience.

VERDICT: This was a terrific read, one that offered a roller-coaster ride of emotions from the first page to the very last. Breathtaking is a sincerely sorrowful story – all the more so because of the true basis and inspiration behind it – but it is a hugely important one too. Bond highlights and draws attention to some important issues through this book, and in doing so, also crafts a touching tribute to the facts behind the fiction, to the people who experienced these events and tragedies in real life. A challenging, heartbreaking, but ultimately, uplifting read – wonderful, moving writing.

It’s a very strong and well-earned ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from this reviewer. I also want to say a humongous thank you to Courtney Turcotte Bond for providing a copy and giving me the chance to read and review it.